luger feeding problem

[mccaslyn]

Hello all, i took my new to me luger out for the first time today and had a consistent problem, every time i went to shoot on almost every round it would lock back and would not strip the cartridge some mags i made it though it seems that if i load less than 5 it will do it and it works good full but then when it starts to empty it will happen. unfortunately i only had one mag and i expect that this is the problem, I was just curious on your opinion

[mrerick]

Check and see if there is dirt in the hold-open well, or if there is damage to the spring. Since your pistol is made up from parts from multiple guns, there might be a problem requiring hand fitting of the hold open.

Marc

[mccaslyn]

I am learning a lot today about this gun lol i managed to take out the assembly the spring appears to be fine or at least looks similar to what the others i searched looked like. fiddled with it some and it pushes the same distance up (the bolt hold open) regardless if i bent it with more of an angle or not (bent it back to original)

the mag i have is slightly bent on the button attached to the follower which i think may be pushing it slightly higher than normal

[lugerholsterrepair]

the mag i have is slightly bent on the button attached to the follower which i think may be pushing it slightly higher than normal...most feeding problems stem from a defective magazine. At least a good shooter mag is a place to start eliminating variables. Might try a new MecGar.

[mccaslyn]

yeah just wanted to see before i bought one, have one on the way. hopefully this cures the problem

[lugerholsterrepair]

hopefully this cures the problem Yes..if it does or doesn't you will know more than you do now!

[rhuff]

If you find that the old mag is your problem, you might want to consider sending the mag to GT to have it "tuned" and made functional.

[mccaslyn]

How much would that run?

[DonVoigt]

Originally Posted by mccaslyn

How much would that run?

Unless it is a matching magazine it does not make much sense to spent $$ on it.

For about $35 you can have a new Mec-gar mag.

GT can answer the cost question, but you would have =/- $15 just in postage there and back.

[mccaslyn]

I have a mecgar on the way. Would the mag be worth anything? Its stainless and has aluminum bottom with i think 135 or 165 on bottom

[mrerick]

Send G.T. a message on the forum.

[Sky Zero]

G.T. is the way to go. He's got a barrel and upper of mine right now.

[lugerholsterrepair]

OK, I am guessing it's your holdopen spring. That's the flat spring on the front of it. It is bent so that it pushes the bar too high,

[mccaslyn]

ok, i will get a replacement, do you have any suggestions on where i should get one? i see sarco has them and i see some on ebay from interarms

[mccaslyn]

also i wanted to say thanks to everyone, you have all been very helpfull

[K.Wilhelm]

Listen to my man, Jerry; he knows whereof he speaks. Had the same problem with one of my first Lugers and he made sure I got an original HO spring to fix the issue. Bill

[mccaslyn]

Do you happen to know if the ones from numrich are original. Mine looks straw colored the ones from interarms looks the closest

[DonVoigt]

I guess by now you may be wishing you had bought one that someone else had worked the bugs out of?

You can probably fix the hold open if you are handy, rather than keep buying parts, why not just send it to Lugerdoc for a tune up and correction?

[mccaslyn]

Yes definitely. It was more of an impulse buy considering it was right around the corner. I may go that route but id like to keep cost down

[lugerholsterrepair]

Now is your chance to understand the Luger a little better. Dive into it..figure out what does what and why. Then noodle it and fix the problem. It's not exactly a rubics cube..Action meets reaction. Springs push down or lift up. The knife edge under the bolt that lifts enough to hold it open is a fine line but the flat spring is what controls it. Look it over and slightly adjust it to do the job. It's a life lesson. When it works you will have a sense of pride and accomplishment..or yeah..you could be the kind of guy who drags a bag of parts into the gun shop. That IS one way to go...But just so you know..Sarco, Numrich orIinterarms..it's a crap shoot. Repro parts almost always suck. Likely nothing wrong with yours..just need a tweek. IF your spring is shot or you break it..ONLY get an original. But too..unless your holdopen id chiggered up, chipped or broken..all you MIGHT need is the small flat spring.

To clarify for you the flat spring holds the knife edge holdopen down into it's well, out of the way of the sliding bolt. The follower button, after the last cartridge leaves the magazine, raises up on an empty magazine and pushes the knife edge high enough to catch the slit edge on the underside of the bolt in it's rearward travel it slides over but when it begins to go forward, the bolt is captured in the open position by the knife edge. It's actually fairly simple.